The phone at Yamilett Gomez's Allentown home was ringing off the hook Friday as the radio broadcast the news that a 15-year-old boy was arrested in New Jersey for the murder of her brother-in-law, Reynaldo Rivera.

"We are not going to believe it until we see him in handcuffs, behind bars and in jail," Gomez said.

Wilfredo Jimenez Jr. of 188 Gordon St., Allentown, is charged with one count of criminal homicide in Allentown. He was arrested without incident at his mother's Asbury Park home at 4:30 a.m., Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr. told the Asbury Park Press. New Jersey state police took the boy into custody.

Jimenez is being held at the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center in Freehold. He is scheduled for an extradition hearing Tuesday in Monmouth County Court.

Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin said he doesn't know how long extradition will take but feels "relatively confident" Jimenez will be in Allentown within a week.

"Jimenez has not waived extradition at this point," Martin said. "It could be soon, could be months. It depends on what posture the case takes in New Jersey. Extradition can be time-consuming; there is still paper work to be processed."

Rivera, 28, of 210 Ridge Ave., was shot to death March 30 near the corner of Ridge Avenue and Turner Street, across the street from his home.

A fistfight involving the victim and another man preceded the shooting, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Jimenez's arrest.

The affidavit gave the following account:

Alexis "Puerto Rico" Mercado walked into the 200 block of Ridge Avenue on the east side of the street. He was accompanied by Felix "Cracker" Morales and Jimenez. Mercado exchanged words with Rivera, who had crossed Ridge Avenue from the west to the east side. Rivera punched Mercado in the face and pulled Mercado down on the sidewalk. Both men were throwing punches.

Morales stated that Rivera's brother, Javier Rivera, joined in and grabbed both of Mercado's arms with both hands, and several seconds later Jimenez stepped in front of Morales, stooped toward Rivera and the shot went off.

Jimenez fled north on Ridge Avenue. Morales said he saw a gun in Jimenez's possession about four days before the homicide. Morales said he believed Jimenez had this gun in his possession at the time of the homicide and that, just before the shot was fired, Jimenez was grabbing at the bottom of his shirt and waistband as he stepped up and stooped toward Rivera.

Jimenez was identified through a photo in the 1998 Dieruff High School yearbook.

Police recovered one discharged .380-caliber cartridge, and a short distance north of the scene, an Accu-Tek-brand pistol magazine was recovered with four unfired .380-caliber cartridges.

An autopsy report done by Dr. Sarah Fluke stated that the shot was fired from a distance of 3 feet and went behind Rivera's right ear.